I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle luggage carriers which can be readily attached to and disengaged from a vehicle and, more particularly, the present invention relates to a vehicle luggage carrier which can be releasably secured to the trunk lid of a vehicle for supplementing the vehicle's luggage carrying capacity.
II. Description of the Prior Art
A number of luggage carriers for use with vehicles, such as automobiles, are well known in the prior art. A review of the appropriate and applicable patents reveals that hundreds of various design configurations are known. In some instances luggage carriers are specifically designed to be releasably attached to portions of the vehicle body, and in many cases the luggage carriers are very difficult to attach or remove from the vehicle and frequently may be of a complicated design, making their manufacture very expensive. Because of the energy crisis and, more particularly, the fuel shortage recently experienced in the United States, there has been a dramatic shift in the ownership from the big American vehicle to a smaller, economy-sized vehicle. This is dramatized by the substantial increase in the sales of smaller, more economical automobiles and the down sizing of the larger automobiles in order for the automobiles to comply with government mandated fuel standards. It is readily recognized that when a shift is made from the larger size vehicle to the smaller size vehicle, there is a corresponding loss in luggage carrying capacity of the particular vehicle. Accordingly, it would not only be desirable to provide a luggage carrier for supplementing the loss of luggage carrying capacity, but also to provide one which can be readily secured to and detached from a vehicle and one which can be so removed in a simple and efficient manner. It would also be desirable to provide a luggage carrier which is attractive in appearance while mounted to the automobile and which will not mar or damage the surface finish of the automobile when in use.
III. Prior Art Statement
The aforementioned prior art constitutes the most relevant prior art of which applicant is aware.